1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to roller slides for supporting drawers in a cabinet, and it relates more particularly to a drawer outstop feature which prevents accidental removal of the drawer while allowing the drawer to be easily removed when desired.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the construction of cabinets, particularly file cabinets, a wide variety of mechanisms are known for enabling drawers to freely slide in and out of the cabinet enclosure. Typically, these mechanisms include pairs of drawer slides comprising interfitting C-shaped rails fitted with suitable rollers. The slides thereby permit the drawer to roll out of the cabinet with little friction.
One type of drawer slide mechanism includes a carriage. The drawer is supported on rollers in the carriage which, in turn, is supported by tracks mounted to the cabinet. As the drawer is pulled out, the carriage moves outwardly also, permitting the drawer to be supported in a fully open condition. The latter assembly has gained wide acceptance particularly in lateral file cabinets because it permits file folders within the drawer to be fully accessible when the drawer is opened.
It is imperative in the construction of file cabinets that the drawer slide is provided with an outstop feature which normally prevents removal of the drawer in the fully opened condition. This feature prevents the drawer from accidentally dissociating from the cabinet causing possible injury to the user. However, it is also desirable to provide a latching mechanism which permits the drawer to be removed under circumstances in which the user chooses to remove it, such as when the cabinet itself is being mowed and the drawers are empty. To this end, a variety of latching mechanisms are known such as disclosed in Fielding et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4, 441, 772 and Rechberg, U.S. Pat. No. 4, 749, 242. Typically, these latching mechanisms include a manually pivotable latch arm which is mounted to one of the drawer slides and selectively cooperates with an associated slide member to prevent longitudinal separation of the slides except when the latch arm is manually pivoted.
While the foregoing latching mechanisms are effective in preventing a drawer from being accidentally removed, these mechanisms are often complex in construction and expensive to manufacture. Further, the complexity of these mechanisms frequently causes difficulty to the user in attempting to discover without instructions how the mechanism is operated. It is, therefore, desirable to provide a drawer disconnect feature which positively prevents accidental removal of the drawer yet easily permits the drawer to be removed at the preference of the user.